One of two Wisconsin girls accused of stabbing classmate appears in court. AP file photo

Written by

James Alan Fox

For now, 12-year-old Morgan Geyser and 13-year-old Anissa Weier of Waukesha, Wisconsin, are facing prosecution as adults for the near fatal stabbing of their sixth-grade classmate Payton Leutner after a birthday celebratory sleep-over. The two girls reportedly acted out of fear that the fictional villain Slender Man would harm them or their families unless they complied with his sacrificial demand.

According to Wisconsin law, anyone age 10 or over who is charged with first-degree homicide, including attempts, must be tried as an adult. The girls' only hope is that the judge will reduce the charge, allowing transfer of the case to juvenile court.

Wisconsin is not unique. Some states leave to juvenile court judges the decision to transfer minors to the adult system, while others give prosecutors discretion. Still other states, including Wisconsin, stipulate that juveniles charged with certain offenses will automatically be tried as adults, with some exceptions.

In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several occasions to eliminate certain draconian punishments for juvenile offenders. Yet, the matter of trial jurisdiction is just as critical.

Higher rate of recidivism

There are many drawbacks to trying kids as adults. Younger offenders have a greater capacity for rehabilitation than older inmates. Scientific studies found that youngsters prosecuted as adults recidivate at a higher rate than those tried in the juvenile justice system.

Pretending that teens are just smaller versions of adults runs contrary to what we know about neurological and social development. Although they may offend like adults, they reason like children.

The most prominent characteristic separating youth violence from adult offending is the senseless nature of what motivates juveniles. Killing to appease some imaginary figure is absurd to most people, but youngsters sometimes have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality. Insensitive to risk, they think almost exclusively about the short term and have limited empathy for others.

Accomplices also can be all important. Peer approval is a powerful reward, while rejection can seem like a fate worse than death. As in the Wisconsin case, teenagers sometimes perpetrate crimes, more to express loyalty to their partner in crime than to express disdain for the victim.

The late-'80s and early-'90s surge in youth violence prompted rapid change in state laws, widening the range of offenses and lowering the minimum age when transfer to adult court is possible, if not mandatory. But the steady decline in violence over past 20years has done little to limit the juvenile-to-adult jurisdictional pipeline.

If we are to realize major reform, it will likely take the Supreme Court to do the right thing in rethinking juvenile transfer laws.

James Alan Fox is the Lipman Professor of Criminology, Law and Public Policy at Northeastern University and a member of the USA TODAY Board of Contributors.